# Medical Transcriptionists

US SOC code 31-9094. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/31-9094

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **41,550** US medical transcriptionists, with median pay of **$40,410** a year. The last full technology era for medical transcriptionists: Dragon NaturallySpeaking + Dragon Medical, 1997 to 2010.

Figures: Official statistic.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 4.4% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=31-9094&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

### AI exposure studies

- **23.2%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv) (Official statistic)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35.

## Medical Transcriptionists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1900
- Latest US employment: 41,550 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [2]
- Latest US median pay: $40,410 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Outlook: -4.4% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [15]

### All 24 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1999 | 97,260 | $24,270 | BLS OEWS 1999 [1] |
| 2003 | 97,810 | $27,590 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [2] |
| 2004 | 92,740 | $28,380 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [2] |
| 2005 | 90,380 | $29,080 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [2] |
| 2006 | 86,790 | $29,950 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [2] |
| 2007 | 86,990 | $31,250 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [2] |
| 2008 | 86,200 | $32,060 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [2] |
| 2009 | 82,810 | $32,600 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [2] |
| 2010 | 78,780 | $32,900 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [2] |
| 2011 | 76,570 | $33,480 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [2] |
| 2012 | 74,810 | $34,020 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [2] |
| 2013 | 68,350 | $34,590 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [2] |
| 2014 | 61,210 | $34,750 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [2] |
| 2015 | 57,830 | $34,890 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [2] |
| 2016 | 54,070 | $35,720 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [2] |
| 2017 | 55,880 | $35,250 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [2] |
| 2018 | 53,730 | $34,770 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [2] |
| 2019 | 55,780 | $33,380 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [2] |
| 2020 | 49,530 | $35,270 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [2] |
| 2021 | 55,830 | $30,100 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [2] |
| 2022 | 48,680 | $34,730 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [2] |
| 2023 | 52,420 | $37,060 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [2] |
| 2024 | 43,070 | $37,550 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [2] |
| 2025 | 41,550 | $40,410 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [2] |

## Sources (70)

### Employment series

1. [BLS OES 1999 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes99nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
2. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

3. [BLS OES 1999 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes99nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
4. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

5. [HowStuffWorks: "The Evolution of Dictaphones: A Comprehensive History" (Dictaphone Corporation history, medical applications)](https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/inventions/dictaphone.htm), HowStuffWorks
6. [Mobius MD: "Medical transcription: a brief history" (compact cassette, telephone dictation, word processing transition)](https://www.mobius.md/blog/medical-transcription-history), Mobius MD
7. [Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) — About AHDI (founded 1978 as AAMT; certification programs RHDS and CHDS)](https://ahdionline.org/about/), Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity
8. [Simbo AI: "The Historical Evolution of Medical Transcription: From Ancient Practices to Modern Technology" (word processing, telephone dictation, AAMT founding)](https://www.simbo.ai/blog/the-historical-evolution-of-medical-transcription-from-ancient-practices-to-modern-technology-993672/), Simbo AI
9. [Dragon Medical Transcription — History of Speech Recognition Timeline (Dragon Systems 1982, NaturallySpeaking 1997, Dragon Medical 1999, Dragon NS 7 Medical 2003)](http://www.dragon-medical-transcription.com/historyspeechrecognitiontimeline.html), Dragon Medical Transcription (historical archive)
10. [Speechify: "History of Dragon Dictation" (Dragon NaturallySpeaking 1997 launch, Nuance acquisition 2005)](https://speechify.com/blog/history-of-dragon-dictation/), Speechify
11. [Particle Health: "Meaningful Use and the HITECH Act" (2009 signing, three stages, 2015 EHR penetration)](https://www.particlehealth.com/blog/hitech-act-meaningful-use), Particle Health
12. [Rasmussen University: "Where Have All the Medical Transcription Jobs Gone?" (56% decline in job postings 2007-2013)](https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/health-sciences/blog/where-have-medical-transcription-jobs-gone/), Rasmussen University
13. [PMC: "Evaluating the adoption of voice recognition technology for real-time dictation in a rural healthcare system" (Dragon Medical One ambient workflow, 2023)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10035815/), PubMed Central / National Institutes of Health
14. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Medical Transcriptionists — "AI technology can recognize speech and transcribe audio, reducing the need for these workers" (2024)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/medical-transcriptionists.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

15. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 31-9094 Medical transcriptionists (2025: 42.0 thousand; 2035: 40.2 thousand; -4.4%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=31-9094&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
16. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 31-9094.00, human-rated β 0.232)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

17. [Simbo AI: "The Historical Evolution of Medical Transcription" (ACS hospital standardization, early occupational emergence)](https://www.simbo.ai/blog/the-historical-evolution-of-medical-transcription-from-ancient-practices-to-modern-technology-993672/), Simbo AI
18. [Mobius MD: "Medical transcription: a brief history" (Medicare/Medicaid documentation requirements and transcription growth)](https://www.mobius.md/blog/medical-transcription-history), Mobius MD
19. [Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) — About AHDI (founding 1978, certification programs)](https://ahdionline.org/about/), Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity
20. [Accountable HQ: "HIPAA Compliance for Offshore Medical Transcription" (HIPAA Business Associate framework, offshore transcription)](https://www.accountablehq.com/post/hipaa-compliance-for-offshore-medical-transcription-what-healthcare-providers-need-to-know), Accountable HQ
21. [Speechify: "History of Dragon Dictation" (Dragon NaturallySpeaking 1997, Dragon Medical 1999)](https://speechify.com/blog/history-of-dragon-dictation/), Speechify
22. [Dragon Medical Transcription — History of Speech Recognition Timeline (Dragon NS 7 Medical 2003, ScanSoft/Nuance)](http://www.dragon-medical-transcription.com/historyspeechrecognitiontimeline.html), Dragon Medical Transcription (historical archive)
23. [Particle Health: "Meaningful Use and the HITECH Act" (2009, three-stage EHR incentive program, 96% hospital EHR adoption by 2015)](https://www.particlehealth.com/blog/hitech-act-meaningful-use), Particle Health

### Predecessors & successors

24. [Simbo AI: "The Historical Evolution of Medical Transcription" (early hospital stenographers, 1900s)](https://www.simbo.ai/blog/the-historical-evolution-of-medical-transcription-from-ancient-practices-to-modern-technology-993672/), Simbo AI

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.